The Wounded Mellark and The Widowed Everdeen
by StarPotterTwilightHunger
Summary: So, this story combines themes from fanfics like The Meek Shall Inherit the Eldest Everdeen, The Wrong Kind of Man, and The Fire Beneath. No Hunger Games, no Panem. In almost-present day United States. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Young Marriage

**Chapter 1: Young Marriage**

Katniss Everdeen stood nervously in the white bridal dress as the clerk went over final details. The Justice Building's chill did not help alleviate the shaking that was coming over her body.

Across from her was her soon-to-be husband, Gale Hawthorne. He was also her best friend.

Ordinarily, Katniss never would have wanted marriage, least of all a family. No, she was not pregnant, thank goodness, but her mother had insisted she wed once she turned 18. Her reasoning had included family tradition ("I was your age when your father and I got married") - a weak argument, in Katniss's mind. But, her father had not opposed, so the eldest Everdeen daughter had been overruled.

Still, if she had to have a husband, the only person she would even think of marrying was Gale.

As the holy man blessed them, Katniss scanned the small group of people one last time, out of hope. Her other best friend wasn't here. Peeta. She sighed. To his credit, he had been even more hurt by her arranged marriage than she had been, though why exactly was something he did not disclose. It stung that he had not accepted hers and Gale's wedding invitation.

She turned back to her future. _We'll make it work. Somehow._

"…..pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Gale pulled Katniss into his arms, eyes full of love and wearing a beaming smile. Katniss smiled back, and then Gale kissed her.

The grin did not leave Katniss's face as her lips curled against his. How strange. Kissing a man was not as horrible as she imagined it would be. And Gale tasted especially good.

And Katniss Everdeen Hawthorne thought, maybe there was some blessing in marrying him, after all.


	2. Chapter 2: World Unravels

**Chapter 2: World Unravels**

It had been three years since he had seen the rugged hinterlands of West Virginia. Still, it was good to be home.

The Army had been unforgiving. But he had expected as much. And being stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina had had its perks. No combat in Afghanistan, for one thing. Also the learning of new values at no extra cost to himself. At least that was what it seemed like in hindsight, even as his muscles ached from long-conditioned drills while he now shifted in his train seat.

Yes, the United States Army had done wonders for Captain Peeta Mellark. He hoped being at home, on leave, would provide the same fulfilling treatment.

As the train pulled into the station, the 21-year-old reviewed the slip of paper in his hand. It instructed him to meet his middle brother, Bazin, at the Zapata Mines at 5 PM when quitting time was called. The pair would then head off to the bar for a few drinks.

Peeta walked his way to the mine entrance. From the station, it was a bit of a trek, but the Army had turned him into an exercise machine. He saw no reason why he shouldn't stretch out his legs.

As he approached, he spotted Thom, the Miner Foreman and an old friend. Seeing Peeta in his army uniform, the old man gave a firm salute, followed by an equally firm handshake.

"As I live and breathe, you son of a bitch!" Thom chortled. "Look at you! Captain, so I'm told by Bazin!"

Peeta smiled. "I'm not the scrawny Mellark kid anymore, Thom."

The foreman laughed. "If modestly ripped two years ago is what you call 'scrawny', I would love your opinion on what you'd call most of the kids here."

Peeta looked at him sympathetically. "Hard times these days?"

"You have no idea." Thom lit a cigarette. "You ain't in Carolina anymore, son. Fort Bragg, Raleigh and them was probably a goddamn palace compared to here."

Peeta surveyed the mines, the surrounding shacks and all the dust. "You know, you're probably right."

"And here I voted for Hope and Change! Yeah, right! Hey, Obama, where's my refund?" Thom coughed loudly. as he inhaled a little too much. "Romney's looking to challenge him in the next cycle, so the pundits say."

Peeta kept a tight smile. Politics had never been his thing, and he and Thom had never exactly seen eye-to-eye anyway. "We'll see."

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble. Thom swore under his breath.

"Three minutes to quitting time - what the hell is it now?"

But Peeta was more fearful as the earth shook. The rumbling rattled the Port-a-Pottys so much that it forced one occupant to stumble out. Dark hair, stormy grey eyes.

Kirkman Everdeen, Katniss's father.

"Bazin!" Peeta cried, concerned for his brother as he rushed towards the mine shaft.

"Son! Get away from - "

KABOOM.

Light blinded Peeta and he suddenly felt himself flying, as if a tether line had jerked him back by the navel. The impact knocked the wind out of him and he felt agonizing scrapes to his back.

When he came to, still dazed, smoke was billowing out of the mine shaft. Horrible screams could be heard. And something else….he could not feel his right leg.

"Son! Son!" Peeta didn't even have time to turn his head at Kirkman Everdeen's voice before he felt more scraping against his body. The old miner was pulling him back by the armpits across the ground, far enough away from the explosion.

"Thom! Take him! I'm going to go back and help!" Kirkman propped Peeta against the Mining Office and rushed to the shaft. Thom knelt beside Peeta and squeezed his hand, tears in his eyes.

"Hang on, Cap, you're gonna be OK!"

Peeta gave a rueful smirk. "Hey, Thom. This might sound crazy, but…. kinda wishing they dropped me in Afghanistan right about now!"

"Hush your mouth, boy!" Thom whispered fiercely. "Ain't nobody should wish seeing combat on anyone!"

* * *

There were other things that should not be wished upon anyone either.

Such as when Peeta learned the explosion had almost completely severed his lower right leg. There was nothing the doctors could do but to amputate it a few inches below the knee.

Such as when Peeta received notice from Fort Bragg that, upon their learning of his accident, he had been honorably discharged from the United States Army.

Such as when Peeta learned his beloved brother was dead. And so was Gale Hawthorne, the husband of his once-best friend.

In the final police investigation, it was discovered that Kirkman Everdeen had been the Overseer on duty that day. After working almost 20 hours a day to provide extra income for his eldest girl's family as well as his own, he had finally hit a wall and fallen asleep on the toilet of that Port-a-Potty.

Legal ramifications began almost immediately. Paula Mellark, the family matriarch, vowed to sue the entire Everdeen-Hawthorne clan up and down if it was the last thing she did. First a wrongful death suit over Bazin's loss was filed, then a compensation suit demanding the Everdeens help foot the bill for the prosthetic required for Peeta's leg. Settlements were reached for both counts.

On the day of the sentencing, Peeta's parents helped him into the courthouse using a wheelchair. Outside the judge's chambers, Peeta saw Katniss for the first time in over three years. She was clinging to three sobbing little girls. While his parents and oldest brother talked quietly, Peeta wheeled himself up to them. At his approach, the girls clung to their mother closer and Katniss gave him a look of pure stone.

"Katniss," he got out. "I'm sorry. I never wanted any of this…."

"Peeta, you come away from them!" he heard his mother order.

"It's my mother's doing," Peeta whispered, hoping Katniss would understand. She didn't look like she believed him as he rolled sadly away.

3 months later, a guilt-wracked Kirkman Everdeen shot himself in the head with his own Glock .45 handgun.

* * *

 **A/N: Didn't particularly like trashing our President with Thom's comments, but I had to accurately portray political sentiments in the region. Review, review! Preferably after every chapter, let me know what you think of each one.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Decade Later

**Chapter 3: A Decade Later**

Peeta kept his eyes peeled for the dirt road that would lead to his destination. Out here in true American country, the turn was easy enough to miss. He had overshot plenty of times before.

Whoa, there it was! He felt the strange tingly feeling as his metal prosthetic slammed on the brakes. It was a life-saver, that thing was - worth every penny it had cost.

Even if the funds had all come from the wretched settlement.

Paula Mellark's vendetta against the Everdeens had not come without its consequences. The decision had ruined his parent's marriage, as Steffan had sided with his wounded son to not overly press charges. This had led to accusations that Steffan was still in love with Katniss's mother, Lillian Everdeen. Peeta could hear the shouting matches downstairs every night he went to bed, even after the hearings were over. His mother and father had finally divorced bitterly six years ago.

Peeta parked his Chevy truck out front of the shack and retrieved his cane from the shotgun seat. Ordinarily, he would have taken his motorcycle, but his oldest brother, Taftan, always worried about him going too far on the thing. Never mind that Peeta had mastered it as well as any able-bodied man.

Prothesis and cane assisting, Peeta hobbled up the steps of the Everdeen home and knocked. Prim answered.

"Right on time! Come on in, Peeta!"

Peeta smiled. Coming to the Everdeens for the medicine he still needed was one way to let them know he meant them no ill will. A nurse in her last year of medical school, 27-year-old Prim understood this. She had blossomed from the trembling little girl into an attractive Southern Belle, the spitting image of her mother.

"Now, Ms. Primrose, when the hell you gonna settle down with a nice fella?" Peeta teased, like a brother would a sister, as she led him down the hall. Prim shook her head.

"Boy, if you the one offering, you'd better git down on one knee, and call a little louder than that! And sweeter! Ain't no man gonna marry me until after my residency is over!"

Peeta chuckled. This was old banter between them. And deep down, he knew Prim had her eye on Rory Hawthorne, the crack-a-jack handyman in this part of town. "You should try going down to Carolina for that residency of yours."

Prim raised an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling. "North or South?"

"Girl, you talking nonsense? North the only Carolina there is! Ain't nobody pay attention to that South imposter!" he laughed. "But really, I hear Chapel Hill's real nice for that kind of stuff."

"It's WVU's call where they put me, not mine," Prim bristled. "And anyway, I don't know if Rory would wanna come, wherever I'll end up going."

"Well, he damn sure won't if you don't push him against the wall and eat his -"

"Now that's enough out of you, Peeta Mellark!" Prim snapped. Though she could not hide the grin.

He pecked her on the lips. She swatted him, amused. "Ain't ya mama ever told you to ask a girl before kissing her?"

The two now entered the kitchen, where 11-year-old Ella Hawthorne, Katniss's middle daughter and Prim's niece, was just fixing up a package. She grinned. "And here…. is your latest batch, Peeta. Perfect timing, as usual!"

Peeta smiled. "Same for you! Your aunt hasn't missed a refill in ten years…."

"…..and she ain't about to start now!" Ella finished.

Prim beamed. "All thanks to my little successor here."

"Another aspiring nurse?" Peeta chuckled. "And how is your mother, Ella?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" The group turned to see Katniss standing in the doorway, her game bag over her shoulder.

Even at his same age, 31, and after marriage and bearing three children, Katniss Everdeen Hawthorne looked a vision. Peeta felt his pants tighten as he observed her flowing brown hair down to her shoulders, carved-by-angels face and full lips. She was quite the beauty.

In the last decade, Peeta and Katniss had resumed their friendship. Though it would never be what it had been before he was sent to Fort Bragg. There was a cordiality between them, and despite Peeta repeatedly denying it, he knew Katniss still suspected his involvement in the settlement.

He nodded to her. "Hey, Katniss."

"Hey, Peeta."

A brief silence. "The, uh….. other little ones doing well? Olivia and Tess, right?" 12-year-old Olivia was the oldest, and Tess had turned 10 a few months ago. Or was it the other way around? He couldn't remember.

Katniss nodded. "Yup."

"And your mom?"

Katniss averted her eyes just slightly. "Out to see a patient."

Peeta didn't say anything. The answer was predictable, yet unsettled him. The last time he had seen Lillian Everdeen was…. a few years ago. Three, maybe four.

The veteran kissed Prim on the cheek. "Thanks for this. Better get going." He limped past his friend. "See you, Katniss."


	4. Chapter 4: Doing Things Without Regret

**Chapter 4: Doing Things Without Regret**

It was raining torrentially as Katniss adjusted her lipstick. Fixed her tight blouse and short shorts. God, she looked like a fucking teenager in this garb! But it was probably the only thing that could get her noticed.

At the wheel, Prim pulled her up to Darius and Ripper's Bar and parked it.

"You really want to go through with this?" Prim asked.

Katniss turned to her sadly, the tears in her eyes mirroring her sister's. "Prim. There's barely any meat. Mother's been lying in that bed like a vegetable since Tess turned 6. And Hazelle ain't gonna help us none." Her mother-in-law had had a falling out with Katniss after Kirkman was implicated in the death of her son.

Prim grasped her hand and squeezed it. "You get into any trouble, you call me. D'ya hear? Anytime."

Katniss gave a weak smile. "Sure. Unless I say otherwise, pick me up 2 AM when the bar closes."

She got out and raced into the bar. Didn't matter how fast she ran, though. She still got soaked through. Hair plastered to her head, she looked like a drowned cat. Hopefully, her make-up held.

Katniss took a seat at the bar and asked Darius for a shot of whiskey. While she waited, she surveyed the bar. Plenty of men here to choose from. Unfortunately, none were appealing. A middle-aged trucker in one corner was leering at her. She gulped. If he was the only taker, he would have to do. Now to actually stomach her revulsion and flirt with him.

Just then:

"Darius, here for my usual order."

She could have died right then. She looked away and hoped with all her heart that Peeta Mellark didn't realize it was she sitting right next to him. She sensed Darius hand him a brown paper bag. Then:

"Katniss?"

The world was ending. He must have seen the clothes she was wearing and known what she was here for. She got up abruptly and tried to hand a flustered Darius what money she had left. He shook his head way too rapidly.

"Keep it. O-on the house."

Katniss stalked out of the bar into the pouring rain, her tears mixing with the deluge. Of course, she heard the bang of the door behind her. Then, "Hey!"

She walked faster. If she had to run all the way home, it was what she would do.

"Hey!" Peeta called louder.

She spun to face him. "What?" He didn't answer. "What?" she repeated, her voice cracking dangerously as she finally broke down.

Peeta could only stare at her. "Katniss, what the fuck are you doing?"

"What does it look like?!" she screamed.

"It sure looks like….. I don't fucking believe you! You're a mom -"

"Yeah, a single mom who fucking needs whatever cash she can get!" Katniss threw her arms wide. "Come on, Peeta!" she goaded. "Hundred bucks, right here, right now! Wanna good screw with the miner's widow? You can have the first crack!" She vulgarly humped the air with her pelvis, before rushing him and grabbing his shirt. "You know you want it. I know you're lonely like me." She hissed the words out in anger. She could already feel him judging her. And how dare he! If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be in this mess! Wouldn't have spent ten _goddamn_ years of her life struggling to make ends meet, put on the act that she was a good parent so her little girls wouldn't go to the Community Home.

Peeta's hands covered hers as he ripped his shirt out of her grasp. His face was twisted in rage. "You think I'm that easy, huh? That I'll just lay you right here in the lot because, of course, no one else wants to bang a cripple. Well, FUCK YOU!"

"GO AHEAD! NO ONE'S STOPPING YOU!" she screeched, taking his cursing of her literally. But he was already walking away, back towards the bakery down the street.

Shit! At least with Peeta, she would have felt less disgust with herself. Maybe that leering trucker from earlier was still in there? Crying, she turned back to head into the bar.

Darius was locking up.

"What the hell?" Katniss gaped. "Place don't shut down till 2!"

"Closing early for Memorial Day," Darius mumbled. "Sorry, Katniss." He stumbled down the sidewalk to his apartment, letting himself in.

Katniss turned into the alleyway beside the bar and vomited into the dirt. When she emerged, the lot was deserted. Except for Peeta's Chevy in front of the bakery, which he was now locking up.

She had sold her cell phone long ago, and no other place was open for her to use a pay phone to contact Prim. She hurried up to Peeta.

"Can…. you take me home?" she whispered. She withered under his cold stare and she couldn't say she blamed him if he said No. "Please."

A pause. Peeta unlocked the bakery and went in. Moments later, he emerged with a towel under his Army jacket.

"Get in." They both climbed into opposite sides of the Chevy. Once inside, he flung the towel at her and she wrapped it around herself.

The drive back was silent. Peeta wouldn't even look at her, keeping his eyes resolutely on the road. Remarkably, even in the rain, he didn't miss the turn onto the dirt road that led up to the Everdeen place. He parked yards from the house, so that his headlights wouldn't shine on the shack and wake anyone up.

"Peeta…." Katniss croaked.

No response. She must have looked pitiful in his eyes.

Katniss sniffled. "Say it. I'm a big girl; I can take it. I'm just a slu-"

"Not another word!" Peeta growled. "You're more than that, and you know it."

"But I _am_!" she insisted. "I deserve everything I get in life!"

Wordlessly, Peeta now reached into the glove box and pulled out an envelope. He held it out to her, refusing to look at her.

"Then, you also deserve this. It's all I have left from what I got in the settlement. Blood money now, far as I'm concerned. Take it."

Katniss stared at him, speechless.

"Take it, goddam it!" Peeta's voice shook as he slapped the envelope of cash into her palm. She took it blindly.

"Peeta -"

"Just go. And sin no more. You're better than whoring, Katniss. Always have been, always will be."

She burst into tears - anguished, happy, she wasn't sure. But she knew she couldn't leave him like this. Desperately, she slid across the bench seat and draped her arms around his shoulders, peppering kisses on his face, his neck, everywhere.

"Katniss -" he warned before her lips were on his.

She tasted like cheap whiskey, and her kissing technique was sloppy and wet. Her hands moved from his shoulders and down his chest, the nails nearly raking against his shirt. Peeta felt her cup him through his jeans. Damn her, her kiss had already made him half-hard! He stirred at her touch without meaning to, his erection straining against the elastic.

"What are you doing?" he gasped against her lips.

"I'm trying to prove you wrong." She kissed him harder, and began to earnestly stroke him. Oh god, oh god, oh _dear god_.

Her lips were on his neck now, suckling the flesh there tenderly, too tenderly to leave a love bite or any other mark that might brand him as her claim. Her breath heated his throat as she exhaled deeply, before rasping, "I'm showing you that I'm not better than this."

"Well, stop it," he ended up saying into her lips as they returned to his own. His hands moved to her upper arms in an attempt to push her away. Katniss squirmed against him, knocking his arms away as he tried to shove her towards the passenger door, eventually gripping his biceps to effectively pin his limbs to his side as she feasted on his face and neck.

"Stop- mmm!" Peeta tried to cry out, but she covered his mouth with her own, completely, so that they molded and became one. She wound her arms further around his body and kissed him as hard as she could, her lips already feeling bruised and sore form working overtime, from the extra effort.

"No," she whispered into his mouth. "No stopping. Not tonight." She gasped for air and brought her mouth back to his, burying it. She felt him kiss her back.

His hands encircled her waist, pulling her closer in final acceptance while he tried to shift against her. They were clumsily grasping for each other now - a wild display of limbs, hands woven into each other's hair, their faces wet with rain and the tears they both now choked on.

Katniss pushed Peeta flat into his seat and moved onto his lap, deftly straddling his hips. As her one hand played with the nape of his neck, the other shrank back from his hardness and now groped for the lever. Pulling it, she let the seat fall back as far as it would go.

Pressing their bodies together in a tight embrace, the pair rolled into the backseat. Katniss settled on top, amazingly still wearing the towel. Peeta let a hand slip under there, and she shrugged it off and to the floor so he could access her shirt.

His fingers were ice-cold against her perky, straining breasts, but she cherished the feeling of a man exploring her body again. She could feel his manhood smushed up against her thigh. She licked his lips apart so she could shove her tongue into the space there, into his mouth. Her hand slipped down once again and she assertively grasped him.

"Mmmm-Hmmmm! Mmmm!" Peeta moaned as his pelvis now bucked into her hand. Katniss began to stroke him, her lips little by little curving into a smile against his. She closed her eyes in triumph. Yessss…..

They noisily broke apart for the briefest instant; Peeta was desperately tugging at the hem of her top. Katniss helped him off with it. Kissing him again, she nudged off his Army jacket and began to expertly unbutton his shirt before casting that to the floor as well.

The undressing turned desperate now. Their hands got into each other's way as they both worked at the buttons and belts of each other's shorts and pants. Peeta shoved Katniss's mini shorts down her thighs, and she raised herself slightly off him to throw down his jeans past his knees. Peeta suddenly flipped them, and she let out a squeak of surprise.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Ms. Everdeen!" he growled, and she let out a mewl, her center flooding with wetness.

"I'm…. gonna finish it. And it's Hawthorne - Mmmm!" His kiss cut her off. With sexy strength, Peeta threw her legs up over his shoulders. His rock-hard penis sheathed inside Katniss's vagina with such speed, she didn't even have time to cry out. She hadn't had sex in so fucking _long_ \- not since she was a married woman.

Peeta now pounded into her frantically. His and Katniss's mouth violently battled for dominance, the kissing turning rough.

"Uhhhh! Uhhhh… Uhhhh… Huhhhhh…" Katniss moaned shamelessly as Peeta fucked her. At last: "PEETA!"

She came, all over his cock. Peeta only went faster.

"Ohhhhhh….." He shook inside her, spilling his seed deep within as he shuddered to a stop, laying himself to rest over her sweaty, naked body. Katniss took his face in her hands and roughly kissed him.

"Thank you," she got out when she released him.

Peeta pulled out of her and the pair got dressed. Katniss took the envelope left on the dashboard and reached for the car door. She turned back.

"Peeta!… I'm glad….. you were my first time after….." She couldn't bear to mention her husband.

"I'm glad it was you, too." Peeta nodded. "My first time ever."

Katniss stared at him. She would have thought he'd gotten laid during his time in the Army. "Really?" He nodded. She gave a small smile. "Well then, I'm honored." And she meant it. It gave her a sense of pride that she claimed his virginity first.

And she slipped out of the car and hurried through the rain to her door.


	5. Chapter 5: Making Up For Lost Time

**Chapter 5: Making Up For Lost Time**

A few days later, Peeta was back at the Everdeens' place, waiting after knocking on the door. Whatever it was that Katniss wanted him to see, it better be good. For a Sunday morning, anyway.

Katniss answered the door.

"Hey!" she smiled, and let him in.

Peeta then presented her with the loaves of bread he had brought. "I promised myself that from now on, I'm not going to let you or your family starve. There'll be plenty more where that came from, every day."

Katniss blushed. "Thank you." She smiled shyly. Then, she grabbed his hand.

"Come on. Prim took the girls to church." She dragged him through the house until they came to a bedroom. Katniss pushed back the door.

Peeta stared. This was definitely _not_ good for a Sunday morning.

Lillian Everdeen lay like a vegetable in the bed.

"She's not….?"

"Inside, she might as well be. I don't think her body's caught up yet." Her voice was heavy.

"How long?"

"Ever since Tessie done started school." She turned to face him. "Peeta, you can't tell anyone. If the cops found out -"

"No, it's OK. I get it. My lips are sealed."

Katniss smirked, a glint in her eye. "Sealed as they were around mine the other night?"

He laughed. She took his hand. "Come on. I'm going out to hunt."

It was quiet, peaceful in the forest.

"Why didn't you tell me about your mom before?" Peeta asked.

"I wasn't about to start begging! Besides, with the settlement….." Katniss sighed. "Because I figured you wouldn't have helped."

"That's a sick joke." Peeta didn't know why he was becoming so angry, but he was. "'Not about to start begging?' Then what the hell was your hanging around the bar the other night, if not that? And you're wrong - I would have helped you, settlement or not!" He started to storm off.

"Peeta, stop!" Her voice choked on her tears. "Please," and she could barely get it out. He spun to face her, eyes burning.

"I love you, Peeta. I have for years, even when I was married. I just don't -" Her admission was silenced by his lips slamming down onto hers. Despite their frenzied lovemaking in his truck, she still gasped in utter shock as his tongue ravaged her mouth. She stumbled backward as his hands shoved her up against a tree, pinning her there. She moaned as he pressed his hard body against her, remembering how stiff he got for her the other night. Fire burned through her veins and her nerves, gathering between her legs, which spread wide of their own accord when one of Peeta's hands brushed her there. Her hands fisted themselves in his blond hair, burrowing in against the curls as if they had always belonged there while he grinded against her.

Hands groped, stroked, caressed, tore at and even ruined clothing. Peeta roughly pushed Katniss's Sunday-best skirt up around her hips; she moaned when his hands slipped past her panties and caressed her waiting folds. He shoved the underwear down to her ankles and rubbed her faster. Her hands worked around his, undoing his belt buckle without destroying the thing, the button of his pants quickly following before she pushed them down far enough for his boxers to show. His erection created a clear tent. She threw down these as well, allowing his hardness to break free, popping straight up to stand at attention. Peeta moaned deep in his throat as Katniss brazenly seized him, pumping him with as much vigor as he now stroked her clit. As soon as he felt her elicit pre-cum from his throbbing tip, he jammed two fingers deep inside her. The sensation made her head flop back right into the tree, her jaw going slack.

Slapping his groping hands away, Katniss pulled on Peeta's body anywhere she could reach, willing him to be closer. She needed him and she needed him now. Peeta read her horny mind like an open book and within moments, her thighs were in his strong, calloused hands - hands that now held her up against the trunk of the tree so that his cock's head could better tease her folds. She moaned and thrashed against him, craving to have him fill her cunt. Peeta chuckled and sheathed himself inside her.

"Huuhhh…. uhhhhh…. Mmmmuhhhhh… uhhhhhh…"

"Hrrrrr…. Rrrrrrrr…"

Both moaned like animals in heat as Peeta pushed and probed the deepest parts of her being. His firm, muscular arms held Katniss flush against him as his hips began to frantically move. He made deep thrusts within her, making her vision become spotty and her head light with dizziness. Katniss struggled to get a hold of herself as she bucked into him without modesty. Her short nails flailed for something, anything, of his to grab onto, and when they grazed his skin, Peeta let out a growl and buried himself in her down to the hilt, again and again and again. Even then, he could not explore all the wonders her womanhood had to offer and he eventually threw her down to the forest floor to have his way with her there, on all fours. Finding a better position, Peeta's hands pressed down on Katniss's shoulders, causing her ass to stick straight up in the air.

His penis now rammed into her ass. Katniss's head flew back as she let loose another moan, and Peeta seized it, hands fisting into her skull and pulling her slightly back, dangerously reaching the limits of her range of motion. His mind drew a complete blank; he could not comprehend a single thing, except that he had to fuck this woman from behind over and over, until she could barely _walk_. No, until she could barely _stand_! Katniss's body shook, she convulsed all around him; her senses were as shot as an electrical wire after a power surge, so overwhelming was the feeling of being filled by him. Babble not belonging to any language she knew flew from her mouth, curses clearly in English from his, as they raced each other to see who would break first. She squeezed her ass cheeks around him, trapping him within, as her body wracked with another orgasm, - was it her second? Third? She had lost count - her insides milking him better than any cow as his hold over her waned. A roar was wrenched from Peeta's throat as he bashed into her one final time, keeping himself there as he came apart inside her at last, his hips weakly thrusting with every release.

The couple's heavy panting was the only thing that could be heard as their bodies separated. Peeta flung them both down into the grass and he held Katniss close to his chest. Their breathing slowed, and they lay there until the church bells tolled far, far away, letting them know that church was out and the girls would be home soon.


	6. Chapter 6: Married Again

**Chapter 6: Married Again**

Several months later, Katniss found herself in a white dress again and back at the Justice Building. Unlike when she was 18, she felt no pressure to marry the man who stood before her. And the ceremony was more joyous, as Prim, Olivia, Ella and Tess were all there. Even a comatose Lillian was there in a movable sick bed, just aware enough to understand that her eldest girl, at 31, was saying "I do" for the second time.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Captain," the preacher man nodded. Peeta brought his face close to her. Katniss giggled.

"I love you, Mrs. Mellark," he whispered.

"Boy, I won't be sharing your name unless you shut up and kiss me!" Smiling, she pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his.

Cheers went up from the girls, and Mr. Mellark and Taftan let out a few whoops.

"Shoulda brought my gun and let off a couple rounds!" Peeta's surviving brother hollered.

"You do any shooting, you ain't doing it in here! Take it outside and make sure you ain't pointing it at my husband, neither!" Katniss snapped to her new brother-in-law, though her smile was a beaming one.

And as she kissed her second husband again, Katniss Everdeen Hawthorne Mellark knew there was only goodness to be found in re-marrying.


	7. Chapter 7: It's YOU, Dammit!

**Chapter 7: It's You, Dammit!**

Prim's bags were packed and her family surrounded her as they waited at the train station.

The last year had been a busy one. Upon her graduation from medical school just before her sister's wedding, Prim had worked in the WVU hospital. It had at least given her a break from her schooling. Also, in that time, Katniss had become pregnant and borne Peeta a son, Bristow; a second boy - whose name was to be Toler - was already on the way.

"One more after that, and we're all even!" Peeta had joked when he realized his wife was pregnant again. Katniss hadn't looked too pleased, but stayed quiet. If Peeta wanted three boys, who was she to deny him? After all, she was still so in love.

Peeta gave his sister-in-law a hug. "You're going to do great in your residency. UNC-Chapel Hill's a fine school!"

Prim smiled through her tears. "I'll miss you. You and the youngins take care of my sister, ya hear? I'll skin you alive if you don't, Peeta Mellark!"

Peeta laughed. "I believe that!"

Prim kissed each of her nieces and her baby nephew. Then, one last kiss on Katniss's stomach, for the baby in her womb. The sisters hugged.

"Good luck," Katniss got out.

"Board!" the conductor called. "All aboard!"

Prim picked up her bags.

"WAIT!" The family glanced back to see Rory Hawthorne sprint onto the platform. "Primrose Everdeen, you better not be leaving without me saying goodbye!"

"I didn't think you was gonna!" she said, shocked.

"Then was you thinking I was just gonna let you get away, either?" Rory took her hand. "I'm coming with you!"

"What?" Prim gasped. "Rory -"

"Don't you 'Rory' me! I ain't gonna let the prettiest little thing go, because there's only one girl in this world I'm a-gonna marry, and it's YOU, dammit!"

"You gonna ask me proper-like, young man?" Prim prissily challenged.

"Course! But first -" Rory seized her by the shoulders and crushed his lips to hers.

"Mmmmm!" Prim let out a flabbergasted squeak into his mouth, dropping her bags to the platform. Next second, her arms were about Rory's neck as she earnestly kissed him back. After a long moment, they broke apart.

" - first I gotta kiss ya proper-like," Rory gasped.

Prim smiled. "Well, Mr. Hawthorne, you wanna get hitched, let's get hitched! Train's a-waiting!"

The new couple clambered onto the steamer and took seats by the window. The train started to pull away.

"There's gonna be a wedding down in Carolina, y'all!" Prim called. Peeta let out a whoop.

"And plenty o' houses need fixing, too!" Rory laughed.

"BYE!" The Mellark family waved as the train pulled out of the station and disappeared into the distance.

"We'd better keep a look out for that invitation, then," Peeta observed.

"If they don't up and elope first!" Katniss chuckled. "Lord, I hope that boy don't get Prim pregnant 'fore there's a ring on her finger!"

"Don't matter to me which comes first - he gonna be Uncle Rory regardless!" Peeta wagged a finger at his step-daughters. "And that means y'all gonna mind him as much as your aunt. Ya hear?"

"Yes, Papa!" the girls chorused.

Katniss sidled up to her husband and kissed him sweetly with a smile. "I love you, Mr. Mellark."

"And I you, every day and every hour. God only knows how much!"

And, laughing, the blended family headed off towards home.

* * *

 **A/N: Y'all like it? I might go Next Generation on it, I might not. We'll have to see. Review, review, review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Let's Get Hitched

**Chapter 8: Let's Get Hitched**

Three years later, the Mellarks went down to Chapel Hill. Two celebrations were held. The first was Prim finishing her residency and officially beginning her practice as a nurse. The donning of her white lab coat was part of the ceremony.

Mere days after her graduation, Prim traded her coat for a white dress of a very different kind - a bridal dress - as she and Rory finally wed in an intimate church service. The couple had agreed to marry once they were settled: Prim done with school, and Rory's new handy-man business was off the ground. When the preacher pronounced them husband and wife, Primrose Everdeen Hawthorne pushed Rory up against the altar and kissed him until he could barely breathe.

All eight Mellarks - Peeta, Katniss, Olivia, Ella, Tess, Bristow, Toler and Silas, the caboose - whooped and hollered. Rory looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Now, I just gotta convince her to have a baby!" Prim playfully slapped him.

But it wasn't long before Prim became pregnant. She had twins and cared for them as only a master nurse would. In the meantime, the two families would go back and forth between North Carolina and West Virginia.

Both the Mellarks and the Hawthornes felt more complete than they ever had.

* * *

 **A/N: There! Official closure for Prim and Rory. So cute! Review!**


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